Peppers with Mazë

Peppers smothered and broiled in aged and salted clotted cream. Perfect for sharing!

Peppers with Mazë are a great appetizer for dinner parties, specially when paired with a nice piece of crusty bread! They can also be paired with a glass of martini or a margarita, to create a perfect combination that enhances its flavors.

"Speca me Mazë" exemplifies the mountain cuisine of northern Albania and Kosova and is super simple. All it takes are some nice peppers and "Maza e vjeter", or aged salted and clotted cream from sheep's milk, a truly special ingredient of the Albanian regions.

"Maza e vjeter" can be substituted with soft goat's cheese.

Set oven to broiler setting at 250 °C
Grease large oven baking tray with 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
Line with aluminum foil
Transfer 1 red bell pepper, 2 anaheim peppers and 1 italian hot pepper to tray
Season evenly with 2 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil
Transfer to oven. Broil for 5m until skin is blistered on one side
Turn peppers and broil for 5m for even blistering
As each pepper is ready remove from oven. Continue to broil until all peppers are evenly blistered
Remove peppers from oven and transfer to a sealed container to steam for 10m
Weigh 250 g of clotted cream and transfer to a bowl
Add 4 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil
Add 4 tbsp of water
Blend until homogenous and smooth
Peel peppers
Remove stems and seeds
Spread 4 tbsp of sauce in a casserole
Lay the peeled peppers in the casserole
Smother each pepper in the mazë sauce
Transfer to oven and broil at 250 °C for 10m until evenly golden
Revome from oven when golden and bubbly
Plate the Peppers with Mazë and finish with cracked black pepper
Grab some good bread and enjoy!